Chapter 3: Bhuvar
'Tell me more about Bhuvar,' I finally said, sitting on my bed. I checked my watch and it now read eleven pm. The next day I luckily didn't have to work, just some papers to grade, but that could wait. There were more pressing issues, like understanding why there was a man whom I had known for only a few hours sitting in my bedroom. I had known some male friends since months and they hadn't even made it that far. Indeed, the lack of male attention in my life was pathetic. Here, I was at the ripe age of twenty-five and I was still single and what was I doing to fill the blanks in my life? Chatting up a stranger at nearly midnight in my bedroom. A man about whom I only knew the name and world, Bhuvar.
'I can sense the mistrust in your voice. Read Nani's book. Maybe you might trust her. Can I borrow your phone?'
'You know how to use one? You know, coming from another planet and all.' I couldn't resist this pique as he had been playing all-knowing and mighty since the beginning of the encounter.
'Our world is far more advanced than yours, so I think I can manage such a basic device.'
'In the kitchen, next to the oven.'
'Thanks.' And he left me alone to my books, but not before he gave me the sight of his backside lovingly cupped in my shorts. Did he have any underwear on? No, I doubted it as he came here as naked as the day he was born, I thought with a smile. He was wearing my shirt and shorts. 'Could he have worn one of my granny-panties too?' I ventured to think.
'No.'
Dave was at the threshold looking at me, frowning deeply. 'Did he know what I had been thinking of?' I thought with alarm.
''Uh, no to what?'
'No to both. To your thoughts and no to the phone being next to the oven.'
My eyes opened even wider at that statement. I was going to ask him another question, but he interrupted me and prompted, 'Phone?'
'It was charging, so it must be behind the oven. Sorry'
Feeling guilty about harboring such thoughts, I took up the book again, caressing the smooth cover and turning to the third page this time. There was a map demonstrating the 14 worlds in the universe and I could see that Bhuvar was just above our world. So that was Dave's world, I mused. Did I believe him?
On the next page, Nani was talking about the locket.
****The locket is made of Iridium and being so resistant to high temperatures, it is perfect as a key to the worlds. Whoever possesses the locket has the ability to travel across 12 of the 14 worlds. It must therefore be kept carefully and used only when important. The gemstone is a vivid red diamond which is capable of removing negative thoughts and feelings. It can be used effectively only by those who mean to serve a just cause. The mandala design is reminiscent of the close ties and harmony that should prevail across all the worlds for existence to continue.****
So Dave had been telling the truth when he said that the locket brought him to me? But this theory was too far-fetched.
'No, Nani was a sweet old lady. She wouldn't have anything to do with creatures like vampires.'
'Grab your bags. We need to go.'
Dave barged in my room once again, with my phone in his left hand, still pressed against his ear and his right hand pointing to my duffel bag lying next to my cupboard. He barked some more orders in my phone and hung up.
'Now!'
But I refused to move, so he went ahead and took my bag. He threw in a few of my shirts and jeans. His large hand then plunged in my underwear drawer and came out filled with little cups and bits of laces. It felt so embarrassing, and seductive in a freaky sort of way, to see him go through my clothes like that.
'You trusted your grandma?' he asked me so brusquely that I merely nodded. 'Then trust me for now.'
Call me crazy, but I wanted to believe him. I had been trusting the wrong people all my life, look where trusting the school Principal had brought me. He had told me to relax, my class would get the prize-money. Instead that little nincompoop, Gati got everything my class deserved. Trust him, he had said. What would be the consequences of trusting Dave? I had nothing much to lose at that point, so I shot caution to hell and grabbed my toiletries bag and thrust it in the bag Dave was holding. He gave me my phone which I put in one of the pockets along with a spare charger.
'Where are we going?' I asked him. He had been switching off al the lights in the house and was checking all the door locks.
'Everything was already locked, yet you came in,' I said ruefully.
'Activate the locket. We need to go to Bhuvar,' he said slinging my bag over his shoulders, stretching the straps to their limit.
'I don't know how to do that.'
'What gestures did you do last time?'
'I just traced the design with my fingers and then I gave the ruby, the red diamond I corrected, a kiss.'
'This will have to do then.' And he grabbed me and pulled me close to him. His face was so close to mine and I realized that I never got the opportunity to really admire his beauty. He had an oval shaped face, very proportionate. His browns were thick, but well shaped. Right now, they were caught in that usual frown of his. He had full pink lips that girls usually paid for and a proud aquiline nose. But his most arresting features were his eyes. I had already noticed their color the first time I had seen him. He took the locket from my hands and put it in front of my mouth.
'But Bhuvar is the land of vampires, so...'
'So, I am a vampire,' he completed my thought.
'This locket has to take us both to Bhuvar, together. So it means that both our lips have to touch the gemstone at the same time.'
'That's impossible and you know it. It's not big enough..unless.'
The wheels in my brain started working overtime as I started realizing what he meant. But I did not get time to protest as I suddenly heard a loud buzzing noise just outside my bedroom's window. The thick dark red curtains were drawn so I could not see what it was.
'Drones,' Dave said darkly. 'They have been quick.'
'Are they here for...'
'Yes, you. Now kiss the locket.' He did not have to prompt me a second time as we both inched forward to kiss the locket's heart. The cold touch of the metal blended with the moist warmth of his lips as light burst through the locket blinding out everything else. The last thing I heard was my scream as I was plunged in darkness one more time.
'Ash, are you okay?' Dave was peering at my face intently and I realized that I was surrounded by a warm embrace. My legs were numb however. Slowly coming to my senses, I noticed that I was actually cuddled in Dave's arms and he was lying on the floor, bearing my weight. My legs were on the cold floor too, which explained their numbness. I lifted my head and turned it around, as far as it could go and what I saw made my mouth go dry.
Weekly Power Status
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Ranking 
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